Syringe structure



Sept. 18, 1951 M. LOCKHART SYRINGE STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 24, 1947 III fl4 an Z INVENTOfiR, i I I I 10 I 5 1:1 '1; 11 a gfi 1 W HTTU/PNEYSPatented Sept. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE QSYRINGE STRUCTUREMarshall L. Lockhart, Rutherford, N. J. Application November 24, 1947,Serial No. 787,683

This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improvedsyringe assembly and especially. an assembly intended for hypodermicinjections. I

This application is a continuation in part of my prior application forUnited States Letters Patent, Ser. No. 658,670 on Closure, filed in thePatent Ofiice on April 1, 1946, and now Patent No. 2,556,331. In anordinary type of hypodermic syringe, it has been common practice for aphysician, to determine whether the needle wa lodged in a vein bypenetrating the tissue with the needle point and thereafter, retractingthe plunger of the syringe to an extent adequate to relieve the pressurewithin the barrel. That barrel being sufficiently transparent to enableobservation of its interior, it is obvious that with the release ofpressure, effected by retraction of the plunger, blood would flow fromthe inner end of the cannula if the needle was lodged in a vein. Thus, aphysician has been able to act with assurance when administering veinousinjections.

Similarly in hypodermic syringe technique as heretofore practiced, ithasbeen customary in connection with certain types of medicaments, tohave them available in concentrated or solid forms until just before aninjection was to be given. At that time, by using a suitable liquid(such as distilled water, normal saline solution, the patients blood,etc.), it has been feasible to provide a proper injection solutionwithin the syringe barrel. This has been achieved by placing themedicament within the barrel. Then by drawing a suitable quantity of.liquid through the cannula and if necessary shaking the assembly, themedicament has been dissolved and dispersed within the barrel.. Such'drawing of liquid was-conveniently efiected by moving the plunger of thesyringe assembly rearwardly to,

exert a suction action within the barrel. The control of the mixture hasbeen capable of being readily supervised by the physician or operator,who after a proper solution was provided, would then inject the liquidmedicament.

However, in the case of hypodermic syringe assemblies employing anampule, it has not generally been feasible heretofore to follow'thetechniques aforeoutlined in order to aspirate. More particularly, anampulewhether of the double ended or single-ended type-has had its outerend or ends sealed by stoppers. These stoppers have been engageable withthe thrust portion of the syringe or barrel. Therefore, when pressurehas been exerted, the stopper of the'ampule 9 Claims (Cl. 128-220) hasbeen pierced by the inner end of the cannula and the thrust portion ofthe syringe barrel has caused the stopper to move rearwardly (undercontinuing pressure) within the ampule chamber to thus act as a pistonto express the medicament through the cannula. understood, unless thestopper has been modified so as to permit of an aspirating action, aphysician would have great difiiculty in determining whether the outerneedle end was disposed in a vein. This is because it would not beieasible to move the stopper outwardly to relieve pressures or create asuction within the ampule chamber. Also, in no event has it beenfeasible to employ a concentrated or solid medicament within the ampuleand which medicament would be mixed with a liquid to produce a fluidsolution suitable for injection purposes.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the presentinvention to provide in a syringe assembly involving an ampule, animproved structure which will permit of a ready manipulation of thestopper, such that a condition of sub-atmospheric pressure may bedeveloped. Accordingly, it will be feasible for a physician or otheroperator to either deliberately draw liquids into the ampule or to allowsuch liquid to flow into the ampule body.

'A further object is that of providing a structure which may readily bemanipulated by the operator either for permitting a small quantity ofblood to flow from the vein through the cannula to the interior of theampule or else deliberately to draw a quantity of liquid (as in the caseof preparing a solution) within the ampule body.

A still further object is that of furnishing a structure by means ofwhich these results may be achieved and which will in no wise interferewith the ordinary manipulation of the parts of the assembly duringinjection.

Still another object is that of furnishing a design which will embraceparts individually simple in construction and capable of manufacturelargely by automatic machinery and methods; such parts operating in apositive manner according to the will of the physician and moreover,allowing of the complete unsealing of an ampule should the operatordesire such a result.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attached.sheet of drawings and in As will be" Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereofwith the parts axially rotated througha ninety degree angle;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of certain parts of theassembly; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional side view of an alternative form of construction.

Referring primarily to Fig. 4, it will be seen that an assembly has beenillustrated corresponding to that shown in Fig.8 of the drawings of mypreviously filed application Serial Number 658,670 lodged in the PatentOfiice on April 1, 1946 now Patent Number 2,556,331 dated June 12, 1951.Specifically, there has been shown in this view a metal holder includinga barrel or tubular body 5 conveniently formed of metal andprovided witha nose portion 6. The latter is formed with a slot 7 for the receptionof a needle (not shown) but which has opposite pointed ends. One ofthese is for the penetration of tissue; the opposite end extendingbeyond the end of the thrust portion 8 to permit a piercing f thestopper 9 mounted by the ampule IE9.

The stopper is preferably formed of rubber and has its outer facerecessed to receive an insert or ferrule II. The latter may convenientlbe formed of metal. The bore of this insert is threaded as indicated atl2. Corresponding threads l3 are formed at the end of the thrust portion8. The ferrule is associated with the stopper in a manner such that anyprobability of accidental detachment of these elements from each otheris avoided.

In using an apparatus of this type it is obvious that with the needle inposition, the ampule may be projected through the open end portion (notshown) of the barrel until the stopper is in contact with the thrustportion 8. At that point, the needle will conveniently have penetratedthe stopper so that communication is established between the needle boreand the interior of the ampule. Continued pressure of the ampule in thedirection of the outer end of the needle will result in the stoppermoving rearwardly within the bore of the ampule. As a consequence ofsuch movement, the stopper will act as a piston permitting of ahypodermic injection being given.

If the operator desires to relieve the pressure within the ampule bodyby moving the stopper outwardly, this made readily be achieved byproperly rotating the ampule with respect to the thrust portion. Suchrotation will have the effect of coupling the threads [2 and I3.Consequently, by a slight rearward movement, the pressure will berelieved to a point such that the physician or operator will be able todetermine whether the needle is disposed Within a vein or not. In fact,it will be feasible for the operator to completely withdraw the stopperfrom the am pule, should he so desire. Additionally, where it is desiredto prepare a solution and the ampule stopper is accordingly disposedwell within the ampule, the stopper may be partially withdrawn tofunction as a piston to exert suction. Therefore, if the outer end ofthe needle is immersed in liquid, such liquid will be drawn into thebody of the ampule.

In the form of construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a syringe hasbeen indicated which may include a barrel l3" and a nose portion M. Thissyringe may be formed of metal or may be designed so that it will becapable of manufacture from plastic materials. A needle l may be mountedby the nose portion [4 as indicated at l6. This needle may be connectedto a second needle portion or be continued to provide an integral partI! extending through the thrust portion l8 and beyond the end I 9 of thelatter. That end, as shown especially in Fig. 3, may be in the form of acap. The ampule indicated at 20 may be provided with a stopper 2|conveniently formed of rubber and having its inner face recessed as at22. An insert may be imbedded in the stopper body 2|. This insertpreferably takes the form of a truncated cone terminating in a neckportion which is threaded as at 23. The face of the cap I9 is formedwith a recess, the walls of which are also threaded so as to correspondto and cooperate with the threads 23.

Therefore, it is obvious that an operator may grasp the barrell l3 andinsert an ampule through the open end of the same. Thereupon, theoperator may extend his fingers around the wing portions 24 and press orproject the ampule inwardly. As in connection with the previouslydescribed form of assembly, the end of the thrust portion will bearagainst the end of the stop per as the ampule is telescopically disposedwith respect to that thrust portion. This will cause the inner needleportion I! to be introduced through the neck of the preferably metallicinsert so as to penetrate the stopper. Continued pressure will result inan ejection of the liquid through the cannula. If it is desired toretract the stopper for aspiration purposes, then a tuming of the ampulewith respect to th thrust portion will cause the threads of the insertand the cap l9 to interengage. Now, by exerting a pull on the ampule,the stopper may be retracted to a greater or lesser extent. When it isdesired to detach the parts, this may be achieved by simply reversingthe direction of rotation of the ampule with respect to the barrel.

Under certain circumstances, it may be desired to protect the point ofthe inner needle portion 11. To this end, a cover 25 in the form of atube havin one of its ends closed may be provided. The internal diameterof this tube is such that it may be telescopically disposed with respectto the thrust portion I 8. 25 should preferably be sulficiently greatthat it 0 will extend beyond the wing portions 24. The fit.

established between this tube or cover and the thrust portion isconveniently of the friction type. It is apparent that other forms ofcoupling might be employed.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as afore notedare achieved. Obviously numerous changes in construction and rearrange-'ment of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spiritof the invention as de fined by the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a hypodermic syringe assembly in combination, a syringe includinga barrel, a thrust portion extending into said barrel, an ampule havinga closed end, a stopper slidably disposed within said ampule andengageable with said thrust portion as said ampule is projected withinsaid barrel, an end forming a part of said thrust portion and providedwith a screw threaded recess and an outwardly projecting screw-threadedportion forming a part of said stopper and extendable into said recess,whereby-with said threads engaging-said stopper may be retracted in adirection away from the closed end of said ampule.

2. In a syringe assembly, a stopper for an ampule, said stopperincluding a body formed with a recess in its outer face and said recesspresent ing screw threads.

The length of the tube- 3. In a syringe assembly, a stopper for anampule, said stopper comprising a resilient pierceable body formed witha recess and a tubular interiorally threaded insert disposed with saidrecess.

' 4. As an article of manufacture, an ampule stopper comprising aresilient body, a non-resilient insert embedded within said body andextending beyond the same, said insert being tubular and having threadsat a point beyond said stopper body.

5. In a syringe assembly, a syringe body, a thrust portion formin a partof said body to engage the stopper of an ampule and the exterior face ofsaid thrust portion being formed with threads adjacent its end to couplewith threads formed in a recessed portion of such a stopper.

6. A hypodermic syringe assembly including in combination a barrelhaving an open end, a thrust portion extendin; into said barrel from theopposite end thereof, a needle mounted by said barrel and extendinginwardly beyond said thrust portion, an ampule having an open end, aresilient stopper closing said ampule end, an insert of non-resilientmaterial mounted against detachment from said stopper and formed with athreaded surface, the stoppered end of said ampule being insertablethrough the open end of said barrel, the end of said thrust portionbeing also threaded to engage the insert threads and secure said insertand stopper against movement with respect to said barrel and with theadjacent needle end projecting through said stopper.

7. A hypodermic syringe assembly including in combination a barrelhaving an open end, a thrust portion extending into said barre] from theopposite end thereof, a needle mounted by said barrel and extendinginwardly beyond said thrust portion, an ampule having an open end, aresilient stopper closing said ampule, an insert of non-resilientmaterial mounted against movement by said stopper and comprising aconical body having its reduced end projecting beyond the outer face ofsaid stopper and formed with threads, the stoppered end of said ampulebeing insertable through the open end of said barrel and the end of saidthrust portion being formed with a threaded recess to receive thethreaded end of said insert and secure the latter and stopper againstmovement with respect to said barrel.

8. A syringe structure includin in combination a barrel having an openend and an opposite closed end, a thrust portion extending inwardly ofsaid barrel from the closed end thereof, a needle enclosed by saidthrust portion and extendin in the direction of said open end to a pointbeyond said portion, an ampule insertable. through the open end of saidbarrel, a stopper slidably mounted by said ampule and penetratable bysaid needle, said stopper being engageable with said thrust portion tocause the latter to project said stopper within said ampule as theampule is moved towards the closed end of said barrel and engageablesurfaces forming a part of said stopper and thrust portion whereby theymay be coupled against relative movement with the needle extendingthrough said stopper.

9. A syringe structure including in combination a barrel having an openend and an opposite closed end, a thrust portion extending inwardly ofsaid barrel from the closed end thereof, a needle enclosed by saidthrust portion and extendin in the direction of said open end to a pointbeyond said portion, an ampule insertable through the open end of saidbarrel, a stopper slidably mounted by said ampule and penetratable bysaid needle, said stopper being engageable with said thrust portion tocause the latter to project said stopper within said ampule as theampule is moved towards the closed end of said barrel and screw threadsforming a part of said stopper and thrust portion whereby upon theampule and barrel being turned with respect to each other said screwthreads will be engaged to couple said stopper and thrust portionagainst relative movement with the needle extending through saidstopper.

MARSHALL L. LOCKHART.

REFERENCES CITED 1 The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,817,003 Hein Aug. 4, 19311,848,711 Hall Mar. 8, 1932 1,929,247 Hein Oct. 3, 1933 2,313,483 SmithMar. 9, 1943 2,495,026 Smith Jan. 17, 1950

